A/N: I made a huge sacrifice and re-watched The Last Stand for you guys! I hope this chapter pays off because I'm not really pleased with how it turned out…Happy Reading! Oh and if you review this chapter I'll message you a preview of the next chapter. But make sure you're signed in and that private messaging isn't disabled! Also, the second half of this chapter is a flashback (it's in italics)

I just want to show you, She don't even know you.

She's never gonna love you like I want to.

But you just see right through me, and if you only knew me.

"Invisible" Taylor Swift

Professor Xavier, Storm, and Wolverine drove up to a quaint house in the suburbs. They parked the- surprisingly average for someone who also owns a jet-car next to a worn green mailbox that had writing on the side. 1769 Grey. Logan got out of the car, surveying the neighborhood. There were people walking their dogs, children playing outside, a family having a barbeque. This is what Jean would have had if she lived a normal life. His thoughts flashed to a certain southern girl in that instant. Back in Mississippi…did she have a home like this? Did she grow up in a neighborhood like this, only to have it ripped away from her? It was moments like these when he wished he knew more about Marie. Sure, they watched hockey Sunday nights, shared a few late night beers, and trained in the danger room almost every day…but it seemed the more he got to know the brunette, the more he wanted to know. He knows she likes to listen to her music loud enough to block out everything. He knows that, like him, she takes her coffee black. He knows that the only movies that make her cry are when the dog dies. He knows the real reason she hasn't told anyone about her mutation disappearing is that she was afraid. Afraid that she would get used to human contact, only to have it be taken from her again. Despite all this, he felt like Marie could slip away from him at any moment. She had his memories in her head, but it seemed that she was still as mysterious to him as when they first met.

"I need to speak with Jean alone." The Professor spoke to the two oldest remaining team members.

"I don't think that's going to be possible." Eric Lehnsherr replied, approaching the three X-Men from where he stood on the Grey's front lawn. Behind the metal-wielding mutant stood four other Brotherhood members that Logan didn't recognize. Probably new recruits. One was a larger, rough looking man who stood at almost seven feet. Another was a woman with black tattoos and piercings all over her skin. The third man had spikes protruding from his arms and face. Porcupine The Wolverine scoffed inwardly.

The Professor stared at the German man, his face unreadable. "Jean is not well. She needs help."

"Funny, you sound just like her parents." Magneto commented wryly before turning to face Logan.

"I see you're recovering well. That healing must come in handy." The elder man said nonchalantly, causing the feral to clench his fists to control the adamantium from escaping his knuckles. "You see it was nothing personal, just returning a favor for a former friend."

"I still have a favor of my own to return." Logan growled, his thoughts on Marie.

"Ah the young, untouchable girl. I'm so glad she survived. It would be a shame to waste such talent. Be sure to let her know there's always a spot in the Brotherhood for her."

Logan stared at Magneto, hatred coursing through his veins. First he tried to kill Marie. Then the old bastard tortured him within an inch of his life and expected him to do nothing?

"Now, Eric we aren't here to fight. We've come to bring Jean back with us." The Professor interrupted, moving towards the house.

"You and I both know that Jean Grey is not the person in that house." Magneto replied knowingly. Then to his followers, "Don't let anyone inside." Then the two influential men entered the house.

Using his power to turn the metal doorknob, Eric and Charles gained access to the former residence of Jean Grey. The Professor wheeled through the door, the other man following closely behind him. The front door clicked behind them as it shut, the faint thud seeming to convey a sense of finality; as if there was no going back from this point. All was silent. Eerily quiet, with the feeling of chaos brewing just under the surface. Even though the inside of the house was pristine it was clear that Jean was inside somewhere. As they ventured through the rooms it was impossible to ignore the signs of the Phoenix's presence. Pictures on the walls rattled and shook unsteadily. The lights that hung from the ceiling swung dangerously. Flames licked up from the stove, searching for something to burn. Then they found her.

"Jean." The Professor said, shocked at the state his first student was in. The furniture in the room was levitating unstably, threatening to fall over at any given moment. The air seemed to vibrate with un-restrained power. The red head was sitting stiffly in a chair, as if waiting for their arrival.

"I knew you were coming."

"I've come to take you home." The Professor answered, moving farther into the room. Seeing her in this state really hurt him. He had tried to save her by locking the Phoenix up, but all it seemed to do was anger the entity. Phoenix had remained dormant in Jean's mind, just waiting for a weak moment when it could re-emerge; stronger than before.

"He thinks you can't control your powers." Magneto announced, addressing the unpredictable woman before turning to the other man. "I don't think your mind games are going to work anymore, Charles."

Jean turned to the Professor, "You want to control me."

"No, that is not my intention." Professor Xavier stressed, growing frustrated with Eric's manipulation. "I want to help you.

"Help me?" The doctor repeated her voice emotionless and surprisingly monotone. "What's wrong with me?"

"Absolutely nothing." Eric replied, much to the Professor's ire. "He's always tried to limit you."

Suddenly, a lamp flew across the room and smashed into the wall.

"Stay out of my head." The red head warned sternly, her eyes wet with angry tears.

All the doors in the house slammed shut, enclosing the three mutants inside the house. The Professor wheeled closer to his former student, pleading with her to listen. In a trance, the red-head stared resolutely at the floor, unwilling to meet the elder man's eyes.

"Get away from me!" Jean shrieked, sending the Professor flying back across the room, the wheels on his chair screeching in protest. Then, Jean and Professor Xavier were locked in a stare down. Her dark eyes met his unwaveringly, her mind shielded from him by the Phoenix's power.

"Let me in." The professor said calmly, wind rushing around the room and sending papers flying everywhere. Magneto watched the scene play out before him, forced against the wall by the Phoenix's influence. Veins appeared on the woman's face, standing out against her lightly tanned skin.

The Professor was lifted into the air, held aloft against his will. His eyes narrowed in concentration, attempting to find an opening in the wall the Phoenix constructed in Jean's mind. As the old man stared at his beloved friend, his heart was saddened. He couldn't help but feel partly responsible for the state uncontrollable state she was in. Then she stood, her flaming locks flying back from her face forming a devilish halo. The black of her pupils dilated to completely cover the white. Her purplish veins protruded chillingly from her skin, making her appearance even more lethal and inhuman than before.

The house was lifted into the air as the Professor began to disintegrate before Eric's very eyes. Colored eyes became wet as he watched his old friend disintegrate into nothing.

"Charles!" Magneto called, just as the man exploded into nothingness. Then the disarray ended. Stumbling up from where he had been crouched against the wall, he wrapped an arm around the disoriented Jean. "Come my dear."

Logan and Storm entered the house, having incapacitated the four members of the Brotherhood blocking their entrance. With a muttered curse, Logan kicked the unconscious seven foot man whom he had just thrown through a wall and successfully knocked out cold. Catching sight of the empty wheelchair sitting in the middle of the dilapidated room, the feral mutant froze. Storm approached from behind him, releasing a startled gasp at the unexpected sight. With a choked sound, Logan dropped onto his knees on the floor, unable to vocalize his thoughts. Storm placed a hand on his shoulder, tears trailing down her cheeks as she sobbed.

The professor was gone.

Rogue didn't think she had ever seen the garden at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters so crowded with people. The sea of black, sitting somberly in their seats, seemed strangely out of place in the colorful, flower fragranced garden. After Logan and Storm had returned to the mansion and broke the news to the school, the universe seemed to have turned upside down. Scott was gone. Jean was gone. And now the Professor was gone. Subconsciously, Marie realized that the only two remaining members of the original X-Men were Logan and Ororo. Pulling the black hood to her jacket to cover her face, a lone tear slipped down her face. What was happening to the world? How was it right that three good people were gone? Wiped off the face of the earth forever.

Glancing to her far left, Marie caught sight of a figure standing in the back separate from everyone else. Logan. Dressed in his accustomed worn jeans and open button-down shirt over a wife-beater, he looked lost in thought. Probably wondering if he could have done more to help save the Professor two days ago. He had returned from the disastrous mission with Storm two days ago in a rage. He had stormed to his room without a word to anyone, slamming the door shut behind him. While this action kept everyone away, it only solidified Marie in her decision to talk to him. She had quietly opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it behind her. She found her friend standing out on the balcony, his hands gripping the railing painfully tight.

She stood next to him, her shoulder brushing against his. They stood in silence for an immeasurable amount of time, before he grumbled at her to leave and pulled away. With a sigh the brunette followed him in quiet refusal, sitting on the corner of his bed as he popped open a beer. He had set the untouched, open can on his TV and turned so his tensed back was facing her. He had growled empty threats, warning her to leave before he did something he would regret. Unfazed, Marie approached him and wrapped her arms around his middle, resting her head against the middle of his back. This action caused her to realize just how small she was compared to him. Just how much damage he could do if he wanted to. But he never would. She knew without a doubt that Logan would kill himself before hurting her…physically at least. He was most likely completely unaware of the fact that her heart had taken multiple beatings on his behalf. Slowly, the persistent girl felt the tension leave his form, his shoulders dropping in defeat. She held him closer, and brushed her lips against his covered back in a move that was meant to be purely comforting.

Then he was un-wrapping her arms from around him and pulling her with him to sit on his bed. Logan's head dropped into his hands, and he felt a dip in the mattress as Marie took a seat next to him. She waited patiently for him to speak.

"She wasn't Jeannie."

Marie froze, forcing herself to not show a visible reaction to his words.

"I caught a glimpse of her before she followed Magneto. She…she wasn't herself." He looked up. "She killed the Professor."

Marie bit her lip, holding in the questions that were building up in her mind. How did she defeat him? Why would she do that? How on earth are we going to get her back now?

"We'll get her back Logan." The brunette whispered reassuringly, trying her best to comfort her distraught friend.

He nodded absentmindedly. Marie stood and brought the untouched can of beer to him, offering it wordlessly.

"Actually, I just want to be alone now." He said offhandedly, brushing away her offer.

Her golden brown eyes bright with tears, she nodded understandingly and left the room; taking the can with her. He may not need a drink, but after all this she sure did. Marie had found herself up on the roof alone, escaping from the overwhelming feeling of despair that smothered her inside the mansion; like smoke would in a house fire.

Then her ears had caught the rare sound of breathless laughter, and she sought the source of the sound. She watched the couple on the iced over fountain embrace each other closely, their breath visible in the cold air Bobby had created with his ability. Her throat closed up and she felt unable to breathe as she watched Bobby and Kitty twirl carelessly around on the ice, lost in their own private world. That's what Marie wanted desperately more than anything. Not Bobby, but human relationships. She wanted to be able to skate around on the ice, supported by another's hand. She wanted to go to slumber parties and participate in the makeovers Jubilee was always giving everyone else. She wanted to be able to go get her haircut, and not have to do it herself, locked in her bathroom alone. With a shaky sigh, the wistful girl left the dark sky behind her and re-entered her room. She had to find something to wear for the Professor's funeral in two days.

Then…she was going to talk to Storm. It was time the X-Men stopped playing defense.

A/N: Well? I hope this chapter turned out okay. Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear everyone's feedback for this chapter. Review and I'll send you a lengthy excerpt from the next chapter!